S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 4: Chapter 12

The Non-Human Killer 12 - Setting a Trap 

Early in the morning, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao received a call and rushed back to the S.C.I., where they found Feng Jie wrapped in a blanket, leaning against the sofa and sipping hot tea. Mahan sat with a grim expression on the large sofa in the lounge, flanked by Bai Chi and Zhao Hu, both of whom were wrapped in blankets and clutching tightly to his jacket hem on either side...

Gongsun walked out of the forensics lab, yawning, and roughly recounted the events of the previous night to the two of them. Wang Chao and Zhang Long, who were on rotation, had already gone home, while Bai Chi had stayed the night because he was too terrified to return alone.

Before long, everyone had woken up.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked with mild amusement at Feng Jie's sallow complexion.

"Tell us about it." Bai Yutang patted him on the shoulder. "How long were you in there?"

Feng Jie wore a look of utter depression. "I... was on night duty the day before yesterday, and only got home yesterday at noon. Right at my front door, the moment I pulled out my keys, someone knocked me out." With that, he let out a long sigh and said, "When I woke up, I felt like I was standing inside a box, with my hands tied behind my back and my mouth wrapped in duct tape."

At this moment, Mahan hauled the Eagle King totem pole out of the lounge to show Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao. "Chief, take a look. The inside is hollow and cleverly designed, and the base is movable." As he spoke, he pressed down on the base. "It can shift, so the person inside can jump and walk around, but there are no joints on the upper part, and the load-bearing design is so smart that it won't tip over while standing inside."

Zhan Zhao lowered his head to inspect it, noticing two very small holes near the statue's head, and asked Feng Jie, "Can you see what's happening outside through those two holes?"

"Not very clearly, but barely enough," Feng Jie continued. "After I woke up, I found out I was in a large warehouse, hidden behind a pile of things..."

Zhao Hu nodded at Bai Yutang. "He was hidden behind the furniture, which is why we didn't see him when we walked in that day."

"I saw the lights turn on and knew someone had arrived, so I jumped out... But then the lights went out again... And then... and then I saw a ghost..."

Mahan and Zhao Hu understood immediately. What Feng Jie had seen was probably the phantom projection Lü Yan had flashed onto the wall with a projector that day—meant originally to scare them, but unfortunately scaring Feng Jie instead.

"And then?" Bai Yutang asked, holding back a laugh. "You didn't make a sound when they carried you back? Were you scared unconscious?"

Feng Jie's face flushed red and turned pale by turns before he finally nodded in frustration. "Yeah... and when I woke up, I saw I was in that room." He pointed his chin toward the lounge. "I saw people outside, so I jumped out wanting to ask for help. Everyone already knows what happened next."

Hearing the full story, everyone wanted to laugh; Feng Jie truly had suffered terribly.

Gongsun told Bai Yutang, "Several barrels of gasoline were found yesterday on the upper floor of Tanaka's studio. They probably planned to burn down the entire studio after killing Morris..." He pointed at Feng Jie. "He certainly wouldn't have escaped either!"

"What?!" Feng Jie abruptly stood up. "I get it! They wanted to silence me!"

"Silence you?" Bai Yutang looked at him. "What do you know? Who wants to silence you?"

Feng Jie sat back down, lowering his head in silence.

"Both Qu Yanming and Lü Yan have been arrested," Zhan Zhao reminded him. "You were responsible for security alongside Qu Yanming that day... What on earth do you know? Or were you involved too?!"

"No! We didn't do it!!" Feng Jie sighed and sat down. "I know Yanming has been caught, and in fact... I've been very careful these past few days because I'm afraid they'll kill me to tie up loose ends."

Everyone gazed at him in silence, waiting for him to elaborate.

Feng Jie lit a cigarette and said, "Actually, that case with Carlos wasn't done by Yanming, and Lü Yan is innocent too. They were both forced... Everything is being manipulated by that person."

"What person?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"..." After a moment of silence, Feng Jie slowly spat out two words: "Shang Luo."

"...!..." Everyone present was startled. Although they had long suspected that everything might be connected to Shang Luo, they hadn't expected him to be the real mastermind.

"Are you saying... Shang Luo is the one who killed Carlos?" Bai Yutang confirmed once more.

Feng Jie shook his head. "There's someone else helping him behind the scenes... To be exact, whether that person is even human, I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?" Zhan Zhao exchanged a glance with Bai Yutang and asked Feng Jie, "What do you mean you're not sure if they're human?"

"That person—we've only ever heard his voice, never seen his face... He is Tusi!" A sudden tremor entered Feng Jie's voice, whether from excitement or fear he couldn't tell. "He possesses a magical power. Anyone he sets his sights on... has to die!"

Bai Yutang arched an eyebrow at Zhan Zhao—Hear that? Sounds a lot like what Morris said.

Zhan Zhao nodded—Keep him steady first, I have a plan.

"Uh... Feng Jie," Bai Yutang stood up and said, "you need protection!"

"Protection?" Feng Jie looked puzzled.

"Since you know what Shang Luo has been up to, and he wants to silence you, it means your current situation is quite dangerous. We must protect you." Without waiting for Feng Jie to reply, Bai Yutang shot a look at Mahan. "Mahan, assign a dedicated detail to guard him."

Mahan caught the hint, led Feng Jie into a safe house inside the police station specifically prepared for vital witnesses, and stationed two sharp officers outside the door. Before leaving, he reminded Feng Jie to avoid going out as much as possible, though even if he did step out, he needn't worry because officers would be protecting his safety 24 hours a day.

Inside the S.C.I. Office

"Mousie, how do you plan to play this?"

"I'm going to drop a massive trap for them!" Zhan Zhao winked at Bai Yutang. "Let's give them a taste of their own medicine!"

The two first went to the hospital. This morning, Bai Yutang had arranged for Xu Yadong and Wu Kai—who had their bullets removed yesterday and regained sobriety—to be brought back to the hospital for an extremely detailed brain scan, which was also part of Zhan Zhao's plan.

Just as they were about to head out, Zhan Zhao noticed Bai Chi sitting listlessly on the sofa.

"Bai Chi?" He walked over and called out to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Bai Chi replied after a long pause.

"Ah! Right." Bai Yutang pulled a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to him. "I've been too busy these past two days and almost forgot. This one is for you."

Looking skeptical, Bai Chi reached out and took it. After staring blankly for ten seconds, he suddenly leaped up. "A... a firearms permit..." He saw Chief Bao Zheng's bold signature right there at the bottom—with two massive characters: Approved!

Inside Zhao Zhen's studio, in front of a large wardrobe used for storing performance costumes:

Zhao Zhen had already cleared out the clothes from the wardrobe and packed them into boxes, leaving the doors wide open. Standing in front of it were two people—Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao.

Bai Yutang looked at the wardrobe, which was several centimeters shorter than him, and asked Zhao Zhen, "Is this the only thing in your place that can hide a person?!"

Zhao Zhen looked left and right, pointing at a large magic trunk. "Or you could hide in that one? That's huge!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang took a look and recognized it as the kind of box frequently seen in magic shows, where a person hides inside and daggers are thrust through the holes in the box~~~

The two of them stared at the box, exchanged raised eyebrows and a mutual look, and shook their heads in unison. "Forget it, let's stick to the wardrobe..."

"Why did Morris suddenly say he wanted to come over and spend the night here?" Zhan Zhao asked Zhao Zhen, looking perplexed.

"He said someone was trying to kill him and he was scared to stay alone," Zhao Zhen replied, gesturing toward Lisbon. "Lisbon is here—not even ghosts dare to come near~~~"

"If..." Bai Yutang suddenly asked, "If someone tries to harm you, and it's someone you know... would Lisbon attack them?"

Zhao Zhen thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes."

"You might need to clear Lisbon out of here in a moment." Zhan Zhao reached out to stroke Lisbon's fluffy head~~~ Lisbon was already quite familiar with Zhan Zhao, and clearly recognized that Zhan Zhao, like itself, belonged to the feline family~~~ So the man and the lion greeted each other affectionately, looking like a pair meeting after a long-delayed separation.

"You aren't going to make me do anything dangerous, are you?" Zhao Zhen asked half-jokingly.

"I need you to provoke him," Zhan Zhao smiled. "You should know how."

"Provoke?" Zhao Zhen looked puzzled. "You mean, make him angry?"

"Make him lose control of his emotions," Zhan Zhao said. "Let his true nature show."

Zhao Zhen fell silent for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "I'll do my best~~~"

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang quickly dived into the wardrobe; in his haste, Bai Yutang bumped his head against the top shelf, wincing in pain.

Zhan Zhao reached out, shoved him further inward, ducked in after him, and slammed the wardrobe door shut.

Bai Yutang couldn't stand up straight, so he had to bend his upper body over, resting his chin on Zhan Zhao's shoulder. With nowhere to put his hands, he thought for a moment and finally rested them around Zhan Zhao's waist.

Zhan Zhao turned his head to glare at him, reaching out to grab his sleeve and pull his hands away, but Bai Yutang refused to let go.

"What are you doing?! You dead rat!" Zhan Zhao scolded him in a low hiss.

"This saves space~~~" Bai Yutang hugged him tighter. "And it's easier to talk." With that, he blew a gentle breath against Zhan Zhao's ear.

He watched with satisfaction as the man's ear turned crimson from his breath, the blush spreading down his cheek and slowly creeping all the way to his neck.

Indignant, Zhan Zhao turned his head, fully intending to argue with this shameless rat, but voices and footsteps suddenly sounded outside. The two of them instantly fell silent, holding their breath to see what was happening.

They saw Zhao Zhen walking in accompanied by Morris, who was holding a bottle of wine.

"Zhen, I'm so glad you were willing to take me in. I couldn't even sleep last night." Morris muttered, draping an arm casually over Zhao Zhen's shoulder. Though it looked casual, his eyes remained locked onto the side of Zhao Zhen's face.

Peering through the cracks from inside the wardrobe, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang clearly caught Morris's gaze and exchanged a surprised look.

Bai Yutang jutted his chin toward Morris and whispered in Zhan Zhao's ear, "I never noticed before, but who would've thought Morris had designs on Zhao Zhen."

Inside the wardrobe, the two of them focused intently on the gap, waiting to see how things would develop.

Morris kept chattering away, but Zhao Zhen barely responded, acting somewhat tense as he skillfully shrugged off the arm Morris had draped over his shoulder, maintaining a distinct distance between them.

Although Morris pretended on the surface not to notice, a flash of obvious confusion flickered in his eyes.

"Where am I staying?" Morris asked.

"Pick wherever you like, there are plenty of rooms." Zhao Zhen picked up a newspaper, sat on the sofa, rested his head against a dozing Lisbon, and began to read.

Inside the wardrobe, Bai Yutang tapped Zhan Zhao lightly, gesturing toward Zhao Zhen with his eyes as if to ask—He's being this cold, will it work??

Zhan Zhao smiled at him and gave a single thumbs-up, as if saying, "Zhao Zhen's move is brilliant!"

"You're so cold today~~~" Morris walked over and sat down beside Zhao Zhen. "What happened?"

"Huh?" Zhao Zhen glanced at him with mild annoyance. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I brought a bottle of good wine. Want to have a drink?" Morris picked up the bottle he brought and smiled broadly at Zhao Zhen. "Your favorite, French Porto."

Seeing the wine, Zhao Zhen seemed to perk up a bit of interest, then suddenly stared blankly at the bottle with a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Are you remembering the days when we were studying in France?" Morris asked, his face beaming.

"Hm?" Zhao Zhen blinked, snapped out of it, and then shook his head with a smile. "I remember the last time I drank with Bai Chi—that little guy was especially hilarious when he got drunk!"

Bai Yutang bared his teeth at Zhan Zhao, as if to say—See that? The kid is truly Lord Zhao's nephew—so crafty!!!

Zhan Zhao nodded too—It's a good thing his character isn't bad, otherwise he'd definitely be a handful.

On the sofa, Morris's expression began to turn ashen. He said coldly, "Bai Chi? That little cop who got you hurt?!"

"What do you mean he got me hurt? He saved my life," Zhao Zhen said indifferently, a hint of displeasure crossing his face.

"Does someone like you even need him to save you?" Morris forced a smile, then pivoted the topic. "Zhen, I'm heading back to France next week. When are you going back?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang hidden in the wardrobe were startled—This Morris wants to run!

Zhao Zhen looked at him with strange bewilderment. "Who said I'm going back? I'm not leaving."

"Are you crazy?!" Morris looked almost angry as he stared at Zhao Zhen. "Most of your career is overseas; not many people here know you. In France, you're a world-class magician!!"

"Doesn't matter~~~" Zhao Zhen shrugged. "I only do magic for fun anyway, but I've found something much more fun now."

Bai Yutang curled his lip at Zhan Zhao inside the wardrobe—Look at him, he doesn't even need to do magic; he could be an actor. He's got a bright future ahead!

Zhan Zhao wondered—Is Zhao Zhen really that famous?

Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow, flicked his hand gently near Zhan Zhao's ear, and produced a coin out of thin air.